Risch Explains Vote on Syria Attack Resolution

Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) held a news conference today in Boise to explain why he voted against the measure to approve military action in Syria yesterday.

Risch is a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and was one of seven senators to vote against the resolution. The measure passed with 10 voting in favor and one more not voting.

Risch says he was in the briefing from the White House when first democrats and then republicans expressed concerns about the President's plan to "pull the trigger" on military action in Syria without seeking the approval of congress.

Idaho's junior senator also said the goal of the U.S. strike would be to eliminate chemical weapons and punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but not necessarily to remove him from power.

Risch said Syria is not like Iraq and Afghanistan, because it has some powerful friends in Russia and Iran, but even so, his biggest concern is that the Assad Regime will be unseated and nerve gas and other weapons of mass destruction will fall into the hands of radical groups like al-Qaida, al-Nusra, or the Muslim Brotherhood.

Risch also stated he expects the measure to pass the full Senate, but is unsure how the House will decide.